Scott Fujita injury: Browns LB will be put on IR

The Cleveland Browns will place linebacker Scott Fujita on the injured reserve after the veteran suffered a major neck injury in Week 5, as Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer reports. Fujita left that game, a loss to the Giants, and never returned, with subsequent tests revealing a potentially career-ending injury.

Speaking with the media this morning, Browns head coach Pat Shurmur said that he's unsure of whether Fujita will retire or not, but the 36-year-old is presumably considering the possibility after 11 seasons in the NFL.

With Fujita out for the remainder of the season at the very least, Shurmur says that Cleveland will continue to start James-Michael Johnson in his place at outside linebacker, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. The Browns' fourth-round pick this year, Johnson has recorded four tackles over his first two starts this season.

A former member of the Saints, Fujita still has a pending one-game suspension from the bounty scandal that he previously appealed.